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Mina Dresden Gallery

May 1 - May 10, 2009

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312 Valencia Street San Francisco, CA 94103
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Opening Friday May 1st, 5-8pm Gallery hours – Saturday 2nd 5-8pm "First Thursday" 7th 5-8pm Friday 8th 5-8pm The works of six graduating students of CCA’s Furniture Department will be on view from May 1 through May 9, 2009. The recent works of graduating BFA furniture design students Bobby Brinton, Layla Burke, Liz Koerner, Willem-Evett Miller, Lauren Scott, and Jeff Weathers will be featured. Some of these artists have already attracted industry attention for their innovative pieces. About the artists: Bobby Brinton’s specialty is handcrafted, wood surfboards that act as display pieces while remaining completely functional as surfboards. He predominantly works with redwood, or salvaged wood. Bobby says, “I find that gathering material from a source that was on its way to the dump or decomposing is very uplifting.” Each board is one-of-a-kind and designed with a unique method of construction. Brinton’s boards are works of art and imbued with a sense of Californian history. Layla Burke’s pieces reflect a background in fine art and textile design. Her designs are inspired by nature, childhood, geometric patterns, Egypt, outer space, Navajo blankets, and the powers of meditation, as well as the interactive relationships between surface, space, and form. Her recent works include swings that embody sacred geometry. Layla feels that “everyone should have at least one piece of furniture or object that embodies relaxation and creativity—a timeless piece that can act as a touch stone, a cradle, or an altar.” Liz Koerner’s objects suggest a personal connection to material, movement and transformation. She says, “Through abstracted, natural forms I intend to trigger a sense of possibility and a regard for the nuances of deep reconfiguration and metamorphosis.”. She explores how geologic processes such as sedimentation, tectonic shifting and lava flow relate to design. Her recent works include wall-mounted cabinets that play on the actions of sliding and stacking and the optical effects of glass, aluminum, and neon. Willem Evett-Miller's site-specific installations attempt to merge poetics of furniture and architecture creating dynamic yet minimal constructions. He uses the chair form as a device to connect furniture to architecture, the body to architecture, and for its symbolic and metaphorical significance. Willem’s recent pieces have tapped into the provocative and historically significant Folly; an English garden building, symbolizing fantasy, madness and the non-functional. Lauren Scott works with reclaimed materials primarily from the San Francisco dump. These found materials fuel Lauren’s creativity, which she adapts into design and sculpture. Lauren agrees with architect Garth Rockcastle’s statement in an article titled Why Re-Place? (PLACE Magazine) that “making new is not intrinsically more challenging than remaking, amending, or renewing.” Using form and the body as underlying concepts, Lauren combines scale and simplicity to achieve a sense of movement. Jeff Weathers Jeff in an informally trained cabinet-maker, having given twenty-plus years to the trades prior to pursuing a design degree at CCA. Driven by process, Jeff tends to push the technical aspect in all of his work. “I enjoy the challenge of stressing the smallest detail.” Those who have an appreciation for design-inspired engineering will value the deeper aspects of Jeff’s work. About CCA's Furniture Design Program CCA’s Furniture Program focuses on studio furniture, combining the disciplines of furniture design, industrial design, sculpture, architecture, and fashion. The program emphasizes practical skills (woodworking, metalworking, upholstery, and industrial fabrication), drawing and computer-based design, and a theoretical investigation of furniture as both object and cultural agent. More information can be found at www.cca.edu/academics/furniture